The Deepwater horizon oil slick seen from the window of the Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft

The Deepwater horizon oil slick seen from the window of the Lockheed WP-3D Orion aircraft. Best known as one of NOAA’s hurricane hunters, the plane was outfitted with chemical sensors for a mission in California but was diverted to the Gulf of Mexico for several days in June as part of a multi-agency effort to assess the atmospheric consequences of the greatest oil spill in U.S. history.